


you're not really all that terrible

by kismetNemesis



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: (mentioned) - Freeform, Baking, Gen, Lup - Freeform, Platonic Relationships, Pre-Canon, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 17:08:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10518129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kismetNemesis/pseuds/kismetNemesis
Summary: Taako bakes Magnus a cake for his birthday.(MAJOR SPOILERS for episode 59!)





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [goodnicepeople](https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodnicepeople/gifts).



> A birthday gift for the lovely GG, though it's also a gift to myself to work through the latest plot developments.
> 
> I'm serious: big episode 59 spoilers! Get out of here if you're not caught up!

“It’s my birthday,” says Magnus. “I guess.”

“You guess?” Taako turns away from the window, the unknowable void or whatever rushing past the Starblaster. He’s not big on how the actual thing locomotes; that’s Davenport’s job. 

“How can we tell any more?” Magnus is fidgeting, still nervous around Taako though they’ve known each other vaguely for something like two years now. They’re from different departments of IPRE, but they’re gonna be stuck together for a long time now, obviously; Taako guesses he’s trying to strike up friendliness. Well, Lup likes him. It can’t hurt.

“Mark the days from when we set off.”

“That’s what I’ve been doing,” Magnus tells him. “That’s about all I write in my journal. I’m terrible at that stuff.” Taako snorts. He’s been writing nothing but magical research notes. You’ll catch him writing about _interpersonal relationships_ when you’ll catch him dead. 

“Then it is your birthday. Happy birthday, my dude.”

“Will they even have years on the next plane?” asks Magnus, seriously. Taako perks up. This _is_ his actual job. 

“Of course,” he says primly. “We’re going somewhere with a planet, for fuckin’ sure. Whether it’ll match up to where we’re from? That’s anyone’s guess. It’s my guess, really, but we’re nowhere near close enough to tell.” He pauses, looking Magnus up and down. “Well, did anyone get you anything for your birthday?”

Magnus looks at him like he’d just suggested jumping off the ship. “What? I don’t need anything like that.”

“Don’t need, don’t want, two different things.” Taako starts heading for the door. “What’s your favorite type of cake?” 

He doesn’t wait to see if Magnus will follow him out into the hallway, but he does, of course. The man is like a big puppy. 

“I’d be happy with anything, but seriously, Taako, you don’t have to-”

“Shut up, I’m fucking doing it. This place needs a little more occasion, in Taako’s opinion. I gotta set a precedent for me’n Lup’s, it’s coming up.”

Taako throws open the door to the galley, hoping it’ll be empty and grinning when he sees it is. Hell yeah, his city now. 

“Lup is nice,” says Magnus, a little delayed. 

“Don’t go getting ideas now,” Taako says playfully, throwing open the pantry. It’s kind of pitiful, honestly, but it has enough basics to last them years. “She’s totally into Barry.”

“What? No, I- no, of course not!” Magnus sputters. It’s cute. 

“I’m just joshin’ ya. Now, you’re legally bound to tell me your favorite cake. And please don’t say vanilla, I need a goddamn challenge.” 

“Okay. Orange cream.” He looks a little ashamed, but then again he always does. Taako’s beginning to wonder if his face is stuck that way.

“Excellent! Now watch the master at work.” 

Taako gestures for Magnus to sit down, which he does without complaint. He’s turning out to be Taako’s favorite kind of audience member: quiet, attentive, easily impressed. Taako lays out all the basic ingredients, then contemplates substitutions. There’s no fresh oranges, or fresh cream, for that matter, but they don’t call him a culinary wizard for nothing.

There’s a box of instant lemonade powder, gross and clumped, but citrus-y enough for Taako to do a simple transmutation. With an unnecessary flourish, he produces six fresh oranges. Magnus’s eyes about pop out of his head.

“What the fuck?”

“Magic!” says Taako gleefully. “It’s good for something sometimes, huh?”

“I don’t know how to do any,” Magnus admits. “I’m the muscle.”

“Must be pretty special muscle, if they let you come with us.”

“I had to,” says Magnus, and Taako sees a kind of steeliness spring into his eyes. “This is _important_.” 

“Well, agreed,” says Taako, a little surprised by his fervor. They’re all passionate people, though, he supposes. Everyone but he and Lup have left their families behind. Taako can’t imagine. Without his sister he’d riot. “Now watch this.” Powdered sugar to powdered milk to fresh cream takes a little more effort, but Magnus is equally entranced. 

“Amazing,” he murmurs. 

Taako begins the regular cooking process, getting his favorite mixing bowl from the back of the cabinet where he’s stashed it so no one else will use it. 

“What are you doing now?”

“I’m baking, dummy. This part is kind of boring.”

“Nuh-huh. I wanna see how you do it.” Taako shrugs, but he’s secretly pleased. The weirdest thing about this Magnus guy is his complete lack of insincerity. Not relatable, but certainly interesting.

When the cake’s in the oven, Taako’s not sure what to do with himself. Magnus hasn’t budged from his seat at the table, so cautiously Taako hops onto the counter.

“This is so nice of you,” Magnus repeats, making Taako roll his eyes. 

“I get to eat it too, so...”

“When’s your birthday?” Magnus asks. When Taako makes a face, he grins a shit-eating grin. “I wanna make something for Lup.”

“Hitting on my sister, huh?”

“Definitely,” he says, and laughs. “Seriously, though, when?”

Taako relents and tells him, shaking his head as Magnus writes it down. Hey, he’s not gonna say no to free stuff. 

“The cake smells so good.” Magnus peers at the oven. “Do you think they’ll have orange cream in the new plane?”

“Of course. What kind of awful civilization wouldn’t invent orange cream cake?”

“Not a lot of people like it.”

“Ooh, you’re so cool for liking underrated cake flavors.”

“No! I just feel bad no one likes it, so...”

“It’s a flavor. It doesn’t have feelings.”

“I gueessss not. What are you, a scientist?” They laugh. This isn’t half bad, Taako reflects. This guy’s alright. “Can we invite everyone else to come eat the cake with us?”

“Sure, I guess.”

“I think we need to do more team bonding,” says Magnus seriously. 

“We’re gonna be pretty fuckin’ bonded on this shoebox, I promise.”

“I don’t know. I was feeling kind of-” Magnus stops short. “I’m not really essential here.” 

Taako’s not equipped in any way to deal with anything this close to feelings, and Magnus seems to sense that. He sits back and sighs. 

“Sorry, don’t mean to dump all over our nice afternoon together. I’m sure I’ll feel better.”

“We do need a meat shield,” says Taako, and Magnus smiles gratefully. 

“You can’t transmute us one of those?”

“Oh, fuck off.”

“Thank you!” Magnus exclaims. “Sorry, that was weird. I realized I never thanked you for saying happy birthday.”

“Chill, homie. We don’t have to be big on formalities here. Manners, shmanners.”

“Does that mean we can eat the cake with our fingers?”

“Oh, _absolutely_.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I'm a nerd, and referenced several very self-indulgent things in this.
> 
> Please leave me a comment if you enjoyed it!


End file.
